MicroSDHC 2GB, 4GB and 8GB Becoming Cheap!

For anyone with a decent, releatively new smartphone, the best way to increase your media storage is by adding more MicroSD memory. Most new phones should even support greater than 2GB aka MicroSDHC memory. Sometimes, buying a smartphone w/ MicroSDHC support proves to be a better economical solution with the flexibility to upgrades than phones with embedded memory (ie. N95-4, iPhone, etc...). For example, I paid $500 for my N95-3 and started with a 1GB microSD I owned. I paid $35 for a 4GB microSDHC a while ago. If I have waited, the 8GB microSDHC would cost the same today. In the future I could even expand to 16GB. In the mean time, a N95-4 would have set me back at least $650, while it has 8GB internal memory, this is it for the phone, no future upgrades and when it comes time for firmware restoration, it has proven to be less convenient.

The price for MicroSD or MicroSDHC memory cards are dropping fast, take a look at the pricing points below for example. Its a great time for you to load up your phone with pictures, videos and MP3s.

Kingston MicroSD 1GB - as low as $7
SanDisk MicroSDHC 2GB - as low as $11
SanDisk MicroSDHC 4GB - as low as $15
Kingston MicroSDHC 4GB - as low as $21
SanDisk MicroSDHC 8GB - as low as $38

Nokia N95 Symbian S60 Application Force Quit

Recently, I was browsing a mobile friendly website but all of a sudden Nokia Browser just refused to work further. I would still have no problem using the phone (for example, holding down the menu button will still pull up the switch applications bar) but when I am in the Nokia Browser, nothing will react, hence, I can't even exit the program.

I had to force quit on the Nokia browser. To do so, press and hold the menu button until the application switch bar appears, select the application you want to force quit, then press "c" or delete button. It will ask if you want to exit that program. Choose "yes" and you are done.

Benefit of N95-3 over N95-4 8GB

Because of all recent the hard/soft reset and firmware re-flash I had to go through, I actually saw one huge benefit out of owning a N95-3 over the much desired N95-4 (8GB). With N95-3, a large portion of my media (MP3, Photo and Nokia Maps) are stored on a 4GB MicroSD. They are not impacted from all the resets. Once I got my phone back to work, they were safely retrieved from the storage card. Had I owned the 8GB built-in memory, this recovery process would take much longer. Scored an extra point for the N95-3. :)

AT&T Tilt Cost on the Rise? $249 on Amazon

I've always given AT&T Tilt great appraisal for its loaded functionality and spec (3.5G Asia + Europe and US, Wifi, GPS, WM6, etc...). I've seen its price on Amazon fluctuate from as low as $49 to $99 to $174 after rebates. As of this morning, they are going for $249after rebate on Amazon.com. Its still a deal considering that the phone itself is priced at $600.

It is unusual to the cost of a subsidized phone that is going on its 7 month on the market to go up when all other phones are being lowered. If you are seriously considering this phone, you might want to see a limited discount of the N95-4 8GB US editionfor a mere $579 (MSRP $799).

Noka N95-4 8GB US Edition Price Drop $579

Ran across a deal this morning on Amazon.com, the Nokia N95 8GB US edition (Black, HSDPA 850/1900, aka N95-4) is now dropped to $579. This phone is listed for $799 at Nokia store. Why are you tempting me Amazon!!! This phone has a slightly bigger LCD and black finish compared to the N95-3 I currently own.

250Mbps Super 3G Network in Japan

EngadgetMobile reported a story on the Japanese NTT DoCoMo telecom's recent test in successfully logging a peak download of 250Mbps over a test network known as Super 3G Network (aka 3.9G). Thats pretty amazing. Imagine if this technology rolled out today, on a 8GB iPhone or N95-4, it would take about 4 minutes before you fill up your storage at this rate. Wow!

My conversion:
8GB = 65536Mb (megabits)
65536MB/250Mb per second = 262 seconds
262 seconds = 4 min. 37 sec.

Back to reality, where my mobile web connection kept getting timed out...

Nokia N95-4 8GB 3G US NAM $511Shipped?

I can't verify if this is a legitimate US Version (UMTS 850/1900?) of the Black Nokia N95 8GB, but Dell's website says it is. According to TechBargains.com, the price of this phone dropped by $140, plus you can cash in a coupon for $128 off. This is a pretty insane deal for a brand new released 8GB N95-4.

Important Update: I just verified that THIS IS NOT US 3G supported, unlike what Dell claims to be. According to Dell, the manufacturer number is 002D2Q8, and according to Buy.com, its WCDMA 2100. This is European and Asian 3G spec (aka. N95-2)

Important Update 2: According to the folks at Howard Forum, some have called Dell and confirmed this is indeed a US 3.5G N95-4 8GB NAM... somehow they didn't update the Part ID number. I am confused and a little tempted...

Update: While this $511 is no longer available, Amazon.com is now carrying this phone US-version for $579 shipped. See my update here.

Nokia N95 8GB US 3G Now Available (N95-4)

At long last, Nokia's N95 8GB in black (w/ slightly bigger LCD) is available and in stock at the Nokia Flagship store. For simplicity, I'll just refer this unit as N95-4. At $800, most people on Engadget's comment section think it is way overpriced over something "old". For the money, I am happy with my N95-3 w/ a 4GB MicroSDHC for a out the door price of $530.